Waste dumped on old railway station land in Kochi.The premises of the old railway station behind the High Court, adjoining Mangalavanam, are now being cleared of tonnes of garbage on an order issued by the court last month.The Kochi Corporation began the garbage clearing process on Saturday and expects at least 150 truckloads of waste in the next few days. For decades, waste has been dumped on the land alongside Mathai Manjooran Road, said Deepak Joy, councillor representing Ayyappankavu. Considering the land is spread out over a vast area and is...more...

not walled or fenced in most places, monitoring has been difficult, leaving it open to anti-social elements and waste dumping, he added.The High Court in its order had asked for a committee to be formed comprising the Area Manager of the Railways, Secretary of the Kochi Corporation, councillor representing the area, and the health inspector concerned to ensure surveillance and inspection of the area to prevent further dumping of waste, besides installing surveillance cameras.A tender had been invited to construct a wall around 60 to 70 acres, but had received no response, said Nithin Norbert, Ernakulam Area Manager, Southern Railway. Another will be invited soon. Relics of the old railway station and railway quarters lie hidden in the midst of the dense undergrowth and vines, with broken awnings, crumbling walls, and gaping holes in the roofs. The roughly 104-km-long railway line between Shoranur and Ernakulam, the erstwhile Cochin State’s first, culminated here. After discussions and deliberations over several years, construction of the line began in 1899 and took three years to complete, with the construction of bridges in some sections hitting hurdles. Goods and passenger trains began to ply on the line from 1902 onwards. It cost Raja Rama Varma XV, then ruler of the State, a princely sum of ₹70 lakh, nearly emptying the coffers.Since the land lies in Mangalavanam’s buffer zone, a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order prevents any construction on the site, Mr. Norbert said. The railways, which had been considering proposals to restore the buildings of the old station and turn it into a ‘heritage railway station’, has appealed to the Supreme Court against the NGT order.

Ludhiana: As the local administration asked for more Shramik trains to different districts of Bihar and West Bengal for ferrying the migrant labourers, the railway authorities have decided to run four more special trains from city railway station on Saturday.The authorities have also put in motion the required security measures to ensure a smooth experience for everyone concerned.Railway authorities have prepared the schedule for the four trains that will carry up to 1,600 passengers each. The first train will depart for Katihar railway station (Bihar), second to Purnia (Bihar). The other...more...

two more trains are slated for Badalpur (Bihar), New Cooch Behar (West Bengal). The trains will have three to four halts in between.According to station director Tarun Kumar, district administration will bring passengers in different batches to the city station and the local ticket checking staff will provide them seating arrangements. “It will be mandatory for every passenger to wear face cover. Meals and water will be provided to passengers at originating station. We will ensure that social distancing and hygiene norms are followed by passengers,” added the station director.

JAIPUR: A day after a 65-year-old woman travelling from Mumbai to Jaipur tested Covid positive and died, authorities of Jaipur division of North Western Railway (NWR) sent seven of its staff and a coolie to quarantine on Saturday.NWR has also given a list of 75 passengers who travelled up to Jaipur in S-2 coach of Mumbai-Jaipur superfast with the woman. Also, NWR has got additional PPE kits and face shields to ensure extra precaution while attending to such passengers.According to authorities, the woman came to Jaipur on Thursday. “While she alighted...more...

the train, she was restless and was unable to walk properly. Our staff attended to her and called doctors and medical staff. However, the woman was declared dead within minutes,” said a senior officer of Jaipur division of NWR.However, authorities were in panic when told by the state health authorities on Friday that the woman tested positive.“As part of contact tracing, we submitted a list of 75 passengers out of which three travelled up to Durgapura station and 73 up to Jaipur main station. Also, we have informed that in the S-2 coach in which the woman travelled there were 83 passengers of whom eight travelled up to Kota or some station before Kota and 75 came to Jaipur,” Abhay Sharma, chief public relations officer, NWR, told STOI on Saturday.He added eight railway staff, including the train ticket examiner, railway doctor who attended the woman and others, were sent to quarantine. “Also a coolie, who first attended to the woman, was sent to quarantine,” he added.On the other hand, NWR has appealed to the passéngers and reiterated the railway’s advisory for senior citizens and children travelling in trains.The incident also exposed the lofty claims of Indian railways on passenger screening as the woman boarded the train from Mumbai Central. “As part of our advisory, we only disallow the travel of symptomatic patients. The woman was asymptomatic,” said an officer with western railways, Mumbai.NWR adds extra PPE kitsIn order to ensure safety of the railway staff, including station superintendent, station director and others, NWR has got extra PPE kits and face shields for its staff working at various railway stations. “In order to attend to any passenger with symptoms, we need to be extra careful,” said an officer.

A new Zero-based Time Table is in the works with much lower number of trains and stoppages. In a major paradigm shift, Indian Railways is exploring a new time table – Zero-Based -- with theaim to reduce the number of trains and stoppages post-COVID.As the COVID-19 pandemic wreaks havoc across the globe by aecting life and disintegrating economic activities, the state-run...more...

transporter has been equally hit with low passenger and freight business. India had the sixth largest number of COVID-19 cases – over 2 lakh -- till Saturday morning.With the Centre announcing a graded phasing out of the countrywide lockdown, and the economysputtering back to life, Indian Railways is also gearing up to return to normality.However, the passengerbusiness will not be the same again as a multi-disciplinary team involving senior railway ocials and theOperation Research wing of IIT Mumbai is working out details to devise a Zero-Based Time Table on the rail network.2020 Railways May Drop Trains with Low Occupancy, Reduce Stoppages Post-"There is a need to attempt an ecient time table in the new paradigm post-COVID," a Railway directiveissued to the directorate concerned stated. According to the plan under consideration, trains having less than 50% and stations that have very low ticket sales are likely to be dropped in the Zero-Based Time Table.A Zero-Based Time Table means a complete new time table. Every year the Railways has new time table, which is mostly a repetition of the previous one with some changes here and there, plus accommodating of new trains and stoppages.In the new time table, many trains and stoppages, found to be commercially not viable, are expected to be eliminated. The Railways maintain that dropping ‘unviable’ trains and stoppages would increase operational efficiency.There were about 2,200 Mail/Express trains besides Rajdhani, Duronto, Shatabdi and Vande Bharat services operational before the COVID-19 outbreak. Currently, about 200 mail/express and 30 AC trains are running as special trains besides Shramik Specials during the lockdown. After COVID crisis, regular train services will not be the same as before, according to sources close to the development. They said this would require a need-based fresh time table with less number of trains and stoppages.Incidentally, the letter addressed to the directorate concerned mentions "Review stoppages", and the "needfor identifying passenger and freight corridors and maintenance corridor.There are many trains that have low occupancy rates as well as stations where passenger footfalls are negligible. For instance, if a train running on a particular route stops at 10 stations and some of these do not have adequate passengers, then those stoppages are likely to be dropped.Similarly if a particular train has a low occupancy rate or the rate of return is less than the minimum requirement, then it will be discontinued in the new time table.However, this would be tough to implement, as cancelling of train services and eliminating stoppages are sure to face stiff political opposition, sources said.While many stoppages and train services are operational due to the political considerations as also social obligation, the Railways has been constantly avoiding this issue despite facing mounting losses, as it fears a political backlash.Now, with coronavirus scare reigning supreme, the public transporter seems to have found an opportunity to put in place a process to chart out a practical course of action.Hence, a massive exercise is on to review train occupancy and stoppages to nalise the new time table.ways May Drop Trains with Low Occupancy, Though the earlier plan was to complete the exercise before June 30 so that a fresh time table is in force from July, there are possibilities of delay.Since the Railway passenger business is incurring heavy losses and is cross-subsidised from freight profit the pruning exercise is expected to be carried out to cater to market forces.Amid the lockdown, Railway freight earnings saw a shortfall of Rs 8,283 crore compared with the corresponding period last year. Except foodgrain, other goods carried were much lower than the last year.Also, as there are no regular passenger services right now, barring Shramik and AC specials in April and May, passenger revenue is also down by around Rs 9,000 crore.Meanwhile, the public transporter is in the process of reviving some services in phases. While freight and parcel services are on, more passenger-carrying trains are expected to be run across the country as special trains, besides Shramik Specials.However, one may have to wait a bit longer for regular train services, which are not likely to resume before September-October

Railway authorities have been asked to send the those in quarantine who traveled with the womanJaipur: A 65-year-old woman has tested positive for COVID-19 after she died at the Jaipur railway station while de-boarding a train, officials said on Saturday. Railway officials said that as soon as the woman reached the railway station on Friday, she fell unconscious and was declared dead. The body was sent to a hospital where her samples were taken and she was found COVID-19 positive. Ninety-one passengers travelled in the same coach of Mumbai-Jaipur Express in which the woman travelled. Later, all the co-passengers were immediately quarantined in Jaipur as a precautionary measure.Railway authorities have been asked to send the other passengers in quarantine who traveled with the woman, Jaipur District Collector Dr Jogaram said. Since the woman was not carrying any phone or identification, the Additional District Magistrate ordered an inquiry if she was screened at the...more...

Mumbai railway station.The number of caess due to COVID-19 rose to 219 in Rajasthan on Saturday, with one fresh fatality and the number of cases climbed to 10,128 as 44 more people tested positive for the disease, officials said.

Important Note:This website NEVER solicits for Money or Donations. Please beware of anyone requesting/demanding money on behalf of IRI. Thanks.Disclaimer: This website has NO affiliation with the Government-run site of Indian Railways. This site does NOT claim 100% accuracy of fast-changing Rail Information. YOU are responsible for independently confirming the validity of information through other sources.